Apparatus for filling or racking liquids.



' Patented Sept. 26, |899.

J. SCHNEIBLE.

APPARATUS FOR FILLING 0R RACKING LlUlDS.

(Application led Dec. 11, 1896. Renewed Aug. 25, 1899.)

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No. 633,663. Patented Sept. 26,1899.

J. SCHNEIBLE. r

APPARATUS FUR FILLING 0H RACKING LIQUIDS.

(Application led Dec, 11, 1896. Renewed Aug'. 25, 1899.\

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No. 633,663. Patented Sept. 2,6, |899.

.J. SCHNEIBLE..

APPARATUS FOB FILLING 0B RACKING LIGUIDS.

(Application filed Dec. 11, 1896. Renewed Aug` 25, 1899.

lNo Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

I PC 12 Nrrnn 'STATES PATENT JOSEPH SOHNEIBLE, OF NEW' YORK, N. Y.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 633,663, dated September 26, 1899.

Application led December 11,1896. Renewed August 25, 1899. Serial N0. 728'510- (N0 model-l To @ZZ whom, it ntfty concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH SCHNEIBLE, a citizen of the United States7 residing in the city and county of New York, in the State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Filling or Racking Liquids, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accom panying drawings, forming a part hereof.

This invention relates to the racking or transferring of liquids from one receptacle, such as a storage-vat ora barrel, into another receptacle or other receptacles, such as a barrel or keg or bottle, the last-named receptacles being usually of smaller capacity than that iirst named and being the commercial packages in which the liquid is delivered.

More especially does the invention relate to the racking or transferring of liquids, such as ale or beer and other charged beverages, in which it is an object to prevent the separation of gas from the liquid and to avoid the exposure of the liquid to the atmosphere. /Iariousforms ot' apparatus have been devised heretofore with this special purpose in View; and it is the object of my invention to produce an apparatus by which the liquid can at all times be maintained under the proper head to cause the desired iiowinto the receptacles to be filled without exposing any considerable surface for the separation of gas.

Further objects are to permit the proper or desired counter-pressure to be maintained without interfering with the liow thereof, to permit such counter-pressure to be varied Vat will, to permit the head under which the liquid is forced into the receptacles to be varied at will, and to prevent entirely any loss of liquid.

In accordance with my invention I have connected to the pipe or other conductor which leads the liquid from the supply vessel to the receptacles to be iilled, at a point between said vessels, a stand-pipe which is of relatively small diameter, so that there is at no time more than a very small quantitytof liquid from which the separation of gas can possibly take place, although there is always maintained the requisite degree of head or prcssu re to force the liquid into the receptaclc to be filled, even though the liquid be forced by gas or air pressure from a supply vessel below the level of the receptacle to be lled.

The invention will be fully described hereinafter both with regard to the feature already referred to and to other features in connection with the embodiment-s thereof which I have chosen for the illustration and explanation herein of the nature and mode of operation of the invention.

In the drawings, in which such embodiments are illustrated in detail, Figure l is a front elevation of an apparatus adapted for the bottling of beer. Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section thereof on the irregular plane indicated by the line a: @c of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but illustrating a slight modification of the apparatus in which gravity is relied upon instead of gas or air pressure to induce the flow of the liquid from the supply vessel and the governor -shown in Figs. l and 2 is-dispensed with. Fig. t is a detail view in section of a float-valve employed in the apparatus shown in Figs. l and 2, and Fig. 5 is a detail View in section of the governor employed in the apparatus shown in said Figs. l and 2.

It will be understood that although I have illustrated my improvements in the drawings as adapted particularly for use in filling bottles, nevertheless I(he said improvements and the invention are not limited to that particular use, but are equally capable of adaptation to the filling of other receptacles. It will also be understood that although I have shown my improvements in connection with certain well-known devices for holding the bottles in place while being filled and for controlling the flow of liquid from each filling-tube, because such devices and myiinprovements are well adapted for cooperation in a single structure,A nevertheless such devices do not constitute essential features of my invention and are not to be regarded as in any manner limiting the character or scope of the invention.

Referring first to the general construction and arrangement represented in Figs. l and 2,'it will be seen that the supply vessel from which the liquid is to be delivered is represented as a barrel or cask A, which is situated in convenient proximity to the bottling-stand and is connected therewith by a suitable tube or other conductor B. In this arrangement IOO 2 eaees the flow of the liquid from the supply vessel A to the bottles or other receptacles to be between the supply vessel and the receptacles to be filled. One or more of such fillingtubes maybe employed, as may be desired in each particular case, and the internal diameter of the filling-tubes will depend upon the requirements of the particular case. In bottling beer or ale I prefer that such fillingtubes shall have a comparatively small internal diameter or that the course of the liquid between the main tube B and the receptacles to be filled shall be otherwise restricted to some extent for the purpose of creating some degree of resistance to the fiow of the liquid between the stand-pipe hereinafter referred to and the receptacle or receptacles to be filled.

At some point between the supply vessel and the receptacles to be filled and prefer-v ably, though not necessarily, at a point below the level of said receptacles there is connected to the conductor, in advanceof the resistance above referred to, a stand-pipe D, which is of relatively small diameter, so that the whole quantity of liquid contained in it at any time shall be small and so that the surface of the liquid exposed in the stand-pipe shall be small and in which the liquid can rise and fall with varying pressures. If the stand-pipe is open at the top to the external air, J(he height of the column of liquid therein will depend upon the head under which the liquid is delivered from the supplyvessel and upon the resistance which is offered to the flow of the liquid, as abovev described.

In the bottling or racking of beer and other liquids which contain more or less-gas into bott-les or other receptacles I prefer to provide at the top of the stand-pipe D a tank E and to connect the same with the receptacles to be filled by return-tubes e c, so that au equilibrium of pressure on the surface of the liquid as it enters the receptacles to be filled and on the surface of the liquid in the-standpipe is maintained. The gas or air displaced from the receptacles is returned to the tank, and any foam which is carrried over from the receptacles is condensed and is returned to the main body of the liquid through the standpipe D. It may be noted here that even if such condensed liquid is in any degree deficient in gas the whole quantity so returned vis so small and is so distributed among the several receptacles that the quality of the liquid in each full receptacle is not injuriously affected. The tank E may be proL vided with a regulating relief-valve e of ordinary description, so that any excess of pressure in the tank and on the surface of the liquid in the stand-pipe shall be relieved automatically. As it is not desirable that the tank shall be filled with liquid from the standpipe should there be an excess of pressure in the supply vessel or in the conductor, I prefer to provide near the upper end of the stand-pipe a fioat-valve d, which offers no obstruction to the free passage of gas or air in either direction and no obstruction to the passage of liquid downward from thetank into the stand-pipe. I prefer also to provide for admission of gas or air under pressure into the tank E as occasion may require-that is, when establishing the desired counter-pressure in the tank-and have therefore provided a connection e2 thereto from the source of gas or air pressure, this connection being controlled by a stop-valve e3, which is closed during operation of the apparatus.

In said Figs. l and 2 I have represented a supply vessel as below the level of the receptacles to be filled, and it is therefore necessary under such conditions to provide foi` a suitable pressure of gas or air upon the surface of the liquid in said supply vessel. For this purpose a connection ct is provided between the supply vessel A and the source of gas or air under pressure. It will now be obvious that when there is no direct connection between the gas or air on the surface of the liquid in the supply vessel and the gas or air in the receptacles to be filled and on the surface of the liquid in the stand-pipe-that is, when the valve e3 is closed, which is the case during operation-the height of the hydrostatic column in the stand-pipe or, in other words, the head under which the liquid ows into the receptacles to be filled will be measured by the pressure on the liquid in the supply vessel less the pressure in the receptacle or receptacles to be filled, the resistance in the filling-tubes being added to the pressure in the receptacles, and that consequently the liquid may be made to flow under a certain head, and therefore with a certa-in velocit-y, while at the same time any desired pressure may be maintained on the liquid in the recep' tacles and in the construction shown on the surface of the liquid in the stand-pipe, thereby permitting the racking of the liquid to be carried on at the desired speed without disengagement of gas and without waste of liquid. It should be added here that the filling-tubes c c and the return-tubes e e are connected to the receptacles to be filled by a suitable cap or stopper, as at c', which will 'make a tight joint with the mouth of the bottle or other receptacle, such a cap or stopper being fully described and shown in Letters Patent of the United States ITO. 569,180, dated October 13, 189,6, In said patent are also described suitable mcans for controlling the' flow of the IOC) IIO

liquid through each filling-tube, such means being represented in this case by a clamp c2, which is operated by a spring to compress the filling-tube and by the application of a bottle to release the same. lt will be obvious that when my improvements are employed in connection with bottling apparatus of the general description of that shown herein and referred to in said Letters Patent, in which the bottles are removed and replaced in succession as they are iilled, the stand-pipe D will permit the column of liquid therein to rise and fall as the iow is varied and willimmediately reestablish the proper conditions Without subjecting the liquid in the supply vessel and the flowing liquid in the pipe B to concussion or jar.

When the liquid is supplied from a vessel below the level of the receptacles to be filled, it is desirable that provision should be made for varying the head or height of the liquid in the stand-pipe as different conditions may require, and for this purpose there may be applied to the apparatus a pressure-regulating device or governor F, which is represented in elevation in Figs. l and 2 and in section, on a larger scale, in Fig. 5. I will proceed to describe the governor as shown, although it will be obvious that any other governor capable of operating in a similar manner may be substituted therefor. As represented, the governor F is connected to the pipe B, so that the pressure of the liquid in said pipe may be transmitted to a movable diaphragm f, which is conveniently supported between two parts f and f2 of the shell or casing. The stem f3 of the diaphragm f carries at its upper end a valve-plug f4, which is adapted to control the issue of the gas or air under pressure from a port As represented in the drawings, carbonio-acid gas is supplied to the port f5 from the usual cylinder G through a suitable connection g. The gas which escapes through the port f5 passes into a chamber formed within the shell of the casing and thence through a suitable couplingpiece, from which connection may be made both to the pipe e2 above referred to and to the pipe ct above referred to, the pipe e2 being controlled by a stop-valve e3 and the pipe a by a stop-valve a. The chamber into which the gas passes from the port is formed within the section f6 of the shell by upper and lower diaphragms f7 and f8, which are respectively supported between the sections f2 and f and between the section f6 and the cap fg, the diaphragms being connected by a yoke flo, to which the stem f3 is secured. The counterpressure within the receptacles to be illed and the tank E is admitted to the upper side of the diaphragm fthrough a tube e4, which is connected to the tube e2 beyond the stopvalve c, the said tube e4L being connected with the chamber formed within the section f2 of the shell or casing of the governor F. A counterspring f 11, which rests upon an adjustable bridge f1?, is applied to the stem f3, and a regulating-spring,7"13 is applied to the upper end of the yoke flo and is compressed by a follower f1* and an adj ustiug-screw f15,\vhich works through the cap f5). that any variation in the pressure of the liquid against the under side of the diaphragm f will produce, through a variation in the supply of gas through the port f5, a corresponding variation in the pressure on the liquid in the supply vessel,while an increase or decrease in the counter-pressure within the tank E will produce a corresponding increase or decrease in the pressure on the liquid in the supply vessel, thereby maintaining the head or height of liquid in the stand-pipe always the same under varying conditions. Increase or decrease of pressure upon the diaphragm f through the spring f13 and the adjustingscrew f15 will in an obvious manner effect a corresponding variation in the pressure of the gas on the liquid in the supply vessel and a consequent in crease or decrease in the height of the column of liquid in the stand-pipe. For some purposes an ordinary governor G', applied to the gas-cylinder G, may be employed without the governor F; but it will not be wholly automatic in its action.

The form of apparatus thus far referred to is specially adapted for use where for any Areason the supply vessel is not placed high enough with relation to the receptacle or receptacles to be iilled to discharge its contents with sufficient rapidity under the influence of gravity alone and where also such exact control and regulation of the operation of the apparatus are desirable as are rendered possible by use of the governor. In other cases the governor and its connections can be dispensed with, and in Fig. 3 of the drawings I have shown a form of apparatus adapted for such uses. As there represented the supply vessel A is supported at a suitable height by any convenient means and is adapted to deliver its con tents to the receptacles to be filled through a delivery tube or conductor, which may comprise, as before, a tube B, a distributing-head C', and a filling tube or tubes c. A stand-pipe D' of relatively small diameter is connected to the aforesaid conductor at some point between the supply vessel and the receptacles to be illed and mayhave at its top a condensing-tank E', to which the return- I tubes e may be connected and which may be provided also with a relief-valve e. Connection may be made from the tank E to the supply of gas or air under pressure through a suitable connection-piece g, which maybe provided with a controllingvalve g2. Con'- nection may also be established between the gas or air supply and the tank E', on the one hand, and the supply-vessel A', on the other hand, to maintain an equilibrium between the counter-pressure on the liquid in the receptacles to be filled and in the stand-pipe-and the pressure 0n thc surface of thc liquid in It will be evident IIO the supply vessel A through a suitable pipe a', which may be provided with a controllingvalve a2.

It will be Observed that in this construction Without the governor F the stand-pipe D acts, as before, tov maintain and reestablish the necessary head as receptacles are filled and replaced Without subjecting the liquid in the supply vessel and in the tube B' to concussion or jar and without exposing any appreciable quantity of liquid to loss of gas or to contact with atmospheric air. Furthermore, it Will be evident that when the returnpipes are in connection with the stand-pipe, through the tank E or otherwise, any desired counter-pressure may be maintained, While the requisite head is also maintained to produce the proper flow of the liquid; also, that Whatever foam is carried over with the air displaced from the receptacles to be filled will be condensed and returned to the standpipe, to be distributed again in small quantities among other receptacles as they are being filled.

I claim as my inventionl. In apparatus ofthe character referred to, the combination with a conductor to deliver liquid from the supply vessel to the receptacle to be filled, of a stand-pipe of rela tively small diameter connected at its foot to said conductor at an intermediate point, a tank at the upper end of said stand-pipe and a connection from the receptacle to said tank.

2. In apparatus of the character referred to, the combination With a conductor to deliver liquid from the supply vessel to the receptacle to be filled, of a stand-pipe of relatively small diameter connected to said conductor at an intermediate point, and a common connection between the upper end of saidstand-pipe, the receptacle to be filled and a supply of gas or air under pressure.

3. In apparatus of the character referred to, the combination With a conductor to de liver liquid from the supply vessel to the receptacle to be filled, of a stand-pipe of relatively small diameter connected to said conductor at an intermediate point, a connection Y from the receptacle to the upper end of said stand-pipe, and a relief-valve connected to the upper end of said stand-pipe. 4

LI. In apparatus of the character referred to, the combination With a conductor to deliver liquid from the supply vessel to the receptacle to be filled, of a stand-pipe of relatively small diameter connected at its foot to said conductor at an intermediate point, a connection from the receptacle to the upper end of said stand-pipe, means to supply counter-pressure of air or gas to the surface of the liquid in the receptacle and in said standpipe, and a connection from the supply vessel to a supply of gas or air under pressure.

5. In apparatus of the character referred to, the combination With a conductor to deliver liquid from the supply vessel to the receptacle to be filled, of a governor operatively connected with said conductor and controlled by the pressure in said conductor and a connection from a supply of gas or air under pressure to said supply vessel and controlled by said governor.

6. In apparatus of the character referred to, the combination with a conductor to deliver liquid from the supply vessel to the receptacle to be filled, of a connection from said supply vessel to a supply of gas or air under pressure, a valve to control s aid connection, a diaphragm exposed to the pressure on the liquid in said conductor and an operative connection between said diaphragm and said valve.

7. In apparatus of the character referred to, the combination with a conductor to deliver liquidfrom the supply vessel to the receptacle to be filled, of a governor operatively connected with said conductor, means to regulate the action of said governor, and a connection from a supply of gas or\air under pressure to said supply vessel and controlled by said governor.

8. In apparatus of the character referred to, the combination with a conductor to deliver liquid from the supply vessel to the receptacle to be filled, of a connection from said supply vessel to a supply of air or gas under pressure, a valve to control said connection, a diaphragm inclosed in a chamber and exposed on one side to the pressure on the liquid in said conductor, a connection from the receptacle to be lilled to the chamber on the opposite side of said diaphragm, and an operative connection between said diaphragm and said valve. v

9. In apparatus of the character referred to, the combination With a conductor to deliver liquid from the supply vessel to the receptacle to be filled, of a stand-pipe of relatively small diameter connected to said conductor at an intermediate point, a governor operatively connected with said conductor near said stand-,pipe and a connection from a supply of gas or air under pressure to said supply vessel, and controlled by said governor.

l0. In apparatus of the character referred to, the combination with a conductor to deliver liquid from thesupply vessel to the receptacle to be filled, of a stand-pipe of relatively small diameter connected to said conductor at an intermediate point, a diaphragm inclosed in a chamber and exposed on one side to the pressure on thev liquid in said conductor, a connection from said supply vessel to a supply of gas or air under pressure, a valve to control said connection, and operatively connected with said diaphragm, a connection from the receptacle to be filled to the upper end of said stand-pipe and a connection from the upper end of said standpipe to the chamber on the opposite side of said diaphragm.

vl1. In apparatus of the character referred to, a governor comprising a shell, a diaphragm in said shell, separate connections ICO IIO

This specification signed and witnessed Jhis 5th day of December, A. D. 1896. i JOSEPH SCHNEIBLE.

In presence of A. N. JESBERA, i W. B. GREELEY. 

